Hayley Kiyoko Talks About Her Insecure Guest Role

Since returning to HBO in July for its second season, Insecure has been a bright spot of snappy, thoughtful summer TV. Sunday's episode, "Hella L.A.," was no exception. After meeting two girls at the grocery store, Lawrence (played by Jay Ellis) realizes they're actually both really into being with him—together. Happily, he's also on board with the idea of a threesome; things get hot quick, but also develop a curious angle that Lawrence hadn't necessarily perceived at first. What seems like a fun, casual encounter at the outset becomes a more provoking—and potentially problematic—experience of race and sexuality. As Ellis explained to Vulture, "he's told by these girls that another black guy can do it much better than him, and Lawrence is far from their first."

Hayley Kiyoko fans likely noticed the 26-year-old "Girls Like Girls" singer and actress played one of Lawrence's assertive new friends. ELLE.com caught up with Kiyoko for an exclusive chat before the episode aired to find out how she got involved with the hit show, why her mom was so enthusiastic about her nude scene, and why she loves Issa Rae (same).

How did you get involved with 'Insecure' and the episode?

It's a hilarious episode. Lawrence meets these two girls at the grocery store and has this threesome. It's very L.A. and it's very nude. The casting director who cast me for Lemonade Mouth, a Disney film I did at the beginning of my acting career, also cast me for this episode. We had this full circle moment.

I called my mom in a panic because I was like, "Oh my gosh, do I go nude? What do I do?" And she was just like, "Hayley, if you're gonna be nude, now is the time. You're 26 years old, now is the time!" And I was like, "Thanks mom, you're so right!"

Hayley Kiyoko (Miko) and Jay Ellis (Lawrence) meet in

HBO

With both music and acting on your plate, what helps you to decide what projects to take on?

It's difficult to navigate because as my music career is starting to grow, I'm having to start becoming a little more choosy. But Issa Rae is a true creator—I love Insecure, and I love that she writes and created the show. It was so wonderful to be a part of a show that is created by strong, diverse women. You could feel that energy. There's something really inspirational about it—I called my manager when I showed up on set and was like, "I feel like I can do anything!" I like to be a part of shows that are trying to make waves and changes.

Actors always say that filming sex scenes is actually very unsexy. Did you find that to be true?

Yeah. We had a sex choreographer on set and she's screaming at you, looking at the monitor being like, "And move your head back, and do this, and do that!" It's extremely unsexy. But, I do have to say, I felt very confident with my body. I felt very confident in my own skin. We all get naked, we all have bodies. So I woke up the next morning feeling more confident than ever. So it was a very good experience for me.

"It was so wonderful to be a part of a show that is created by strong, diverse women."

You've been directing your own music videos. Are you working on one now?

I have a one-take music video attached to my new single coming out in the fall. I'm really proud of that, and looking forward to everyone being able to see it. I'm in the process of getting it ready to go.

What's it like being a woman of color who's a director? That still seems rare, unfortunately.

I feel like it is pretty rare. Even women directors are still very rare. It was cool to guest star on [Insecure] and support a woman of color who writes and acts and creates and is multifaceted and is living her dream. It's very inspirational for anyone who's trying to create. What's cool nowadays is the benefit of technology and social media—there are those platforms for people to create content like that. I really love that I'm able to direct my music videos, people care and are connecting and there's a platform for me.

I think talking about it helps, because there aren't that many opportunities. Issa herself has talked a lot about the long, complicated process of getting 'Insecure' made. I'm wondering if there are any hurdles you've had to overcome or anything you had to fight for as a director/creator?

For me, every music video is a hurdle. Every time I do a music video, I'm constantly fighting to get my point across. As a gay woman, that's also a big hurdle. I remember when I did my last music video for "Sleepover," I had pitched the concept and someone said, "Is it gonna be another music video about two girls?" And I was like, "Well, yeah, it is, because that's my life!" There's only allowed to be one? All these other artists are singing about guys every single video. Why can't I sing about girls more than once? Why is that a special thing? Obviously, every video is gonna be different, but why is that something that I can't do?

That's a great example of me having to drive my point of trying to normalize girl-on-girl relationships, because people just think that's obscene. Literally, they go, "That's obscene." It's not obscene! It's my life!

I'm also still at the very beginning of my career, so I don't have as many resources as other artists. I'm working with lower budgets and having to be creative with utilizing what I've got to make my videos look more expensive than they are. I'm very proud of every video, because it's a lot of hard work. I'm working to get these stories out, because it's important. They're not just music videos with glitter and fancy moves. There's meaning behind it. I'm trying to push things forward in our society, and it's hard.

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